Everdeen & Hawthorne Hunting & Gathering Company
by Legkicker
Summary: Katniss and Gale are the owners of a multi-million dollar industry, now in association with Mellark Bakery. The Hunger Games are a futile problem for the trio from District 12, their biggest issue right now is a lost ticket from Geneco. But when Peeta gets in with the wrong crowd, borrowing money from a loan shark to play poker, what will happen? Follow this fun story to find out!
1. Prologue

**Prologue  
**

* * *

**Everdeen & Hawthorne Hunting & Gathering Co-Operative Est. 74 ADD**

_Founded in 74 ADD, by Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne. The company started out as a local business, obtaining food sources from the local woods outlying the District 12 border. Today, it's a multi-million dollar business, shipping loads all the way out to District 1 and all in-between. Recently, they signed an agreement to work alongside Mellark Bakery, and they've been doing fine ever since. _

* * *

**Gale** taps his pen on his oak desk while sitting in the back office of the Hob. The room is cluttered with filing cabinets, chairs, boxes, and memos. He stares at a stack of papers, reading the top sheet and trying to make sense of it.

It's busy on the inside of the Hob, outside of his quiet office. The day is growing late, and most of the employees at Everdeen and Hawthorne Hunting Coop are preparing to leave for the night.

He tosses the papers back on his desk and pockets his pen. He gets up and opens the door to the warehouse, immediately hit by the wave of noise coming from the hustle and bustle. His secretary, Madge, walks by holding a manila file.

"Madge, where's Katniss?" Gale asks, stepping outside. He almost has to shout over the sound of the semi-truck's engines currently being loaded for shipments.

Madge's blonde hair is put up in a bun on her head, with a pencil going through it. Her white blouse and khaki pants are wrinkled from a long day of work.

She looks up from the file, "She's on her way back from her business trip to District 11, why?"

"I need that ticket for Genoco, and I got a call from District 3 for a return on their shipment of squirrels, can you call them back?" Gale asks.

Madge nods and quickly walks off towards the main office. A fork-truck zooms by with a large palette with boxes labeled 'groosling'. Gale speed-walks out towards the lobby, running into Greasy Sae as she's coming out of the kitchen. She's wearing her chef's outfit, stained with bits of food.

"Did you get that memo?" she asks him.

Gale thinks hard back to the stack of papers cluttered on his desk, "The one about the rabbits? Look, you have to talk to Ripper, she'll know about it.'

Greasy takes off her apron and tosses it in the clothing hamper outside the laundry room. It's been a long Monday working. Just about everybody is ready to clock-out for the day, but Gale still needs that Genoco ticket. Only Katniss would know where it is, but she's nowhere to be seen.

Darius, walking around with his security uniform on, waves Gale over, "Hey! Are you looking for Katniss?" his red-hair is sweaty and he wipes his brow.

"Yeah, did you see her come in?" Gale asks hopefully. Darius points up towards Gale's office.

Really? Gale rolls his eyes and waves goodbye. He jogs past the aisle lined with stacks of boxes ready to be loaded onto trucks for the next morning. Tuesday will be a busy day, and he's ready to call it a night. It's already an hour past his shift.

He yanks open his door to see Katniss sitting in his black-leather chair, smoking a cigar with her feet up on his desk. She's wearing her hunting attire, with brown-leather boots, light-olive pants, and jacket. She blows smoke up towards the ceiling and grins at him.

"There's the man with the plan!" she slides a glass of scotch across the desk towards him.

He just stands in the doorway with his mouth open. But eventually he smiles and gives in.

"Yeah, man with a plan that nobody seems to follow," he laughs, taking the glass and downing it in one gulp. He coughs, "What was in that?"

"Who knows, Greasy Sae made it," she replies. "What's with Genoco? And why is it that we're returning our shipment to District 3?"

Gale picks up Katniss' feet and pushes them off his desk. He shuffles through a stack of papers and locates the one stamped with 'return' from District 3. The receipt says they weren't satisfied with the size of the squirrels. He hands it over to Katniss and lets her read it.

"I was hoping you knew what happened with Geneco...now I'll have to call Corporate and get them to fax me a new ticket!" Gale rubs his eyes and sighs loudly.

There's a knock on the door and Gale turns around to see Peeta walk in.

"What's going on?" he looks at his watch, "Work time is over, it's poker night!" His baker clothing has been replaced with a clean, grey shirt and dusty jeans. He flips a pair of sunglasses up onto his blonde hair, and points at Gale, "I believe you still owe me from last game!"

Gale slaps him a high-five and they laugh, but not for long as Katniss clears her throat. The both look at her confused, and she raises a brow.

"I believe Prim is performing in the school play tonight…" she says matter-of-factually.

Gale and Peeta exchange worried glances.

* * *

**A/N: The picture is not mine! I found it on Google...**

**Thanks for reading!**

**If you liked it, please take the time to Review/Comment/Subscribe/PM or Email me with Questions or Ideas!**

**Feel free to check out my other stories!**

**_- Legkicker_**


	2. Chapter 2: WakeUp Call

**Everdeen & Hawthorne Hunting & Gathering Co-Operative  
**

**(In association with Mellark Bakery)  
**

**Chapter 2: Wake-Up Call  
**

**It's** a sunny morning in District 12, with a few, white fluffy clouds drifting lazily across the open sky. It's early and just beginning to heat up, while most of the residents still sleep. The dew sticks to the ground, dampening Gale's boots as he walks through the grass behind Katniss' house.

He's been up for a little while now, dressed in his work clothes. A long-sleeved, grey shirt, a brown vest over top of it, and a pair of olive colored pants over his black-leather boots.

Katniss' home is actually quite fancy amongst the old Victor's Village. It's large enough to accompany her and her family comfortably, with luxurious furniture and plush carpeting. The exterior is identical to Peeta's across the street, and the inside similar to Haymitch's…

Gale's home, the third one in the cul-de-sac, is painted an awful green color. He had ordered a darker green to match the surrounding forest, but unfortunately it ended up being a lime green. Too far in to fix the mix-up, he just continued painting.

He doesn't bother knocking on the door, he just pops it open and walks in. The floor inside is a bit repulsive, littered with papers and wrappers. Gale leaves his boots on and makes his way through the kitchen and into the living room.

There he finds Katniss, lying sprawled out in a pile of wrappers on the couch, a half-eaten bowl of cereal on the coffee table in front of her. She still has yesterday's clothing on, the blue dress she wore to Prim's play.

"Does your mom seriously let this go?" Gale asks shaking his head.

Katniss jumps up at his voice, rolling off the couch and tipping the cereal bowl over. It spills across her head and she scrambles away in complete shock. Turning around, she breathes heavily while looking from the bowl to Gale.

She scowls as he laughs hysterically.

"Real funny, I never wake you up when you're sleeping!" she pouts. Gale wipes tears from his eyes and searches around for a towel, still laughing. He locates an un-washed one stuffed in the couch cushions and tosses it to her.

"Oh God, that made my day…and that day is Tuesday, not Saturday. You are…" he looks at his Rolex, "Half-an-hour late for work. Get a shower, I'll meet you down there, Catnip." He dodges the towel as she throws it back at him and he ducks away snickering.

* * *

**Gale** makes his way down the vacant streets, passed the Justice Building, and onward towards the Hob. Not many people are out this early in the morning, aside from some of the coal miners returning from the late shift.

The Hob, it was a vacant warehouse, once an underground black-market, and now the site of a thriving business. With the help of some of the local inhabitants, Gale and Katniss changed it from a grim and depressing desolate building into a fancy shipping depot.

Two large front doors lead inside to a main office, decorated and air conditioned. There's a customer entrance on the left, where you'll meet a receptionist inside named Delly Cartwright, and an employee entrance to the right. There you clock in and head off to your job.

Most of the right side of the warehouse is where Peeta and his crew set up the kitchen in which Greasy Sae and others prepare some of the food gathered. To the left is the main portion of the warehouse, where they have the trucks and shelves stocked with boxes of game, and the shipping office and mechanical office on the far side.

Which are both located beneath Gale's office. As Warehouse Manager, he gets the luxury of having a sound-proofed, air conditioned room all to himself. A catwalk leads up to it, resting it up on the second floor, giving him a full view of what's going on down below.

It's complete with a large oak desk, large black-leather chair, television, telephone, computer, filing cabinets, mini-fridge, microwave, water cooler, and window with a view of the meadow. He tends to keep it clean and organized, aside from his desk which is normally cluttered with papers and files.

Katniss has a similar one, as the Shipping Manager, right next to his, but lacking all the works that Gale's has. That's mainly because she broke the computer, the mini-fridge…and just about all of the other appliances out of rage. She can be grumpy in the mornings, especially on Monday…and she tends to keep the room quite messy.

Normally, it's pretty humid and hot inside the actual warehouse portion, and very cold in the winter. The employees can cool-down or warm up in the rec-room in the back. It's a nice lounge, with some comfortable furniture, a pool table, and self-kitchen.

Gale walks in the customer entrance, greeted by Delly. The main office has pictures of the years the company has been in progress, seats lined along the wall for customers, and a windowed counter where Delly sits behind.

She deals with the tickets for shipping orders, faxing, phone-calls, money, and technical problems. She's the only other one in the warehouse with a personal computer. The other computers are spread out amongst the other rooms. The kitchen has one, mechanical office, shipping office, etc.

"Good morning Gale, how are you today?" she asks in a sing-song voice. She slides a coffee across the counter to him and he scoops it up in his hands. The warmth meets his fingers and he can't help but put on a smile.

"I'm great, thanks for the coffee," he waves her off and enters through the door to the warehouse. Not to be rude, but you could end up talking to Delly for hours on end if you give her the opportunity.

It's empty inside, with none of the employees in for about another half-hour. Gale loves this time of day almost more than closing, just listening to his boots echo in the vacancy.

The floor is all cement, cracked in places and older than the building itself. The roof on the other hand was just refinished last year, composed of a cheap sheet metal that allows for the available sunlight to penetrate through. It saves them money on electrical bills in the summer, but regular indoor lighting is a requirement in the harsh winters when the snow blocks out the sun.

Every morning Gale usually opens up the bay doors. Bay 1, Bay 2, and Bay 3 are all identical, with large doors to allow trucks in and out at the front. They back down the aisle, which is lined with metal shelves stacked with pallets of shipping materials.

According to what the customer orders, Delly directs them to a bay door. Say you want squirrels, you'd back down Bay 1, rabbits back down 2, groosling 3, and special orders go around the back of the building to an exterior Bay 4.

Just to give you an idea of the warehouse and how it operates…

Gale and Katniss usually come in an hour early when they can, almost always followed by Peeta. Delly…she seems to live here. She's the first in, and the last out.

Gale pops open his office door, the window allowing only a few rays of morning sunlight in. It shines across the floor, casting dark shadows across the walls. He pockets his keys, holding the coffee cup in his right hand as he flicks on the lights with his left.

"You're late!" Katniss shouts, popping up from behind his desk.

Gale jumps back, spilling the hot coffee all over his arm and pants.

Now Katniss laughs uncontrollably, while Gale stands in complete disbelief. Katniss is quicker than he imagined, showered and wearing a new set of hunting attire already. She's no longer in the blue dress, but now wearing her light-brown leather jacket, black shirt, grey pants, and tall brown-leather boots.

When he recovers from the ambush, he turns hostile, "Was that really necessary?"

"Maybe, maybe not," she finishes giggling and sits up in his chair grinning, putting her feet up on his desk. If there's one thing he doesn't like about Katniss, it's her surprises…and putting her feet on his desk.

"You do know you have your own office, right?" Gale asks, wiping off his arm. He sets the half-empty cup of coffee on his desk and retrieves a few rolls of paper towels to wipe up the floor. Katniss reluctantly gets up to give him a hand.

"Yeah, but yours is more fun," she says.

Suddenly, the phone rings, and they both confused exchange glances.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!  
**

**Chapter 3 coming soon!  
**

**If you liked it, please take the time to Review/Comment/Subscribe/PM or Email me with Questions or Ideas!  
**

**Feel free to check out my other stories!  
**

**_- Legkicker_**


	3. Chapter 3: Deadly Deals

**Everdeen & Hawthorne Hunting & Gathering Co-Operative  
**

**(In association with Mellark Bakery)  
**

******Chapter 3: Deadly Deals**  


**Being** that it's a Tuesday, it's a bit early for him to be taking calls, and surprising that they actually have any right now. With no warehousemen available, Gale hopes it's not a sales call. The customer would have to wait another half hour or so before being loaded.

He grabs the phone on the last ring, relieved to hear Madge's voice.

"Gale, corporate just faxed over the Geneco ticket. It's a special for two turkey orders, it needs to be delivered tonight," she says.

Gale stands there thinking for a minute. It's embarrassing that they had to contact corporate for the ticket, but more of mystery of who made the call. Regardless, it was necessary considering nobody knew where it was. More likely than not, it was pitched on accident or filed in the wrong box.

"Alright thanks, who was it that contacted corporate?" Gale asks. Katniss tosses away the paper towels, brushes off her hands, and crosses her arms across her chest with a grin.

"That would be Katniss," Madge answers. She hangs up and Gale puts down the phone.

Katniss just stands there, beaming while Gale stares her down.

"You're the best, what would I do without you?" he grabs a paper off his desk, kisses her cheek and runs out the door. She stands there blushing for a moment before he pops his head back in the doorway.

"Grab the mower, it's your turn to cut grass," he grins. Her jaw drops and he laughs all the way down the catwalk.

* * *

**Finally** getting a good look at the order information on the Geneco ticket, Gale gets straight to work. The turkeys are being prepared for an annual feast down in District 4, which means Peeta's bakery will need to fix them up proper before shipment.

It's a bit later in the day now, and the warehouse is full of busy employees. Gale's phone constantly rings, and he struggles to fill out requests and take calls. While the Geneco ticket is a big deal, the rest of the sales can be just as important.

Finally though, he gets a minute to contact Peeta. The phone rings a few times before he answers.

"Peeta talking, what can I help you with?" he answers, the sounds of the kitchen clatter around in the background.

Gale yanks the ticket from beneath a stack of papers, "Two turkeys are coming to the kitchen, I emailed you a copy of the ticket. They're priority right now, and they need to be on a truck heading for District 4 by tonight."

Gale looks out his window as the sound of a lawn mower starts up. Katniss walks across the lawn below, pushing the mower in front of her while muttering angrily to herself the whole time.

"Alright, I'll get it done. Where are we going for lunch today?" he asks.

Believe it or not, you can get a bit tired of eating the same squirrels and rabbits you prepare day in and day out. So the trio enjoys eating out for lunch instead, heading to various places around the District.

"I'm thinking Leevy's Diner, but we'll talk later," Gale says. The two hang up as Katniss passes by again, still cursing.

* * *

**Leevy's **Diner is a bit closer than they normally go, but it's a busy day and Gale likes to stick close by the warehouse.

It's right down the road from the workplace. The building is a stereotypical small diner on the corner, with a white and grey exterior and a big red sign displaying the diner name. Through the front doors to the left sits a row of identical red-cushioned booths stretching eight tables back, lined with windows. A wooden-top bar with red-padded stools runs along the back, behind which is the kitchen.

Luckily, there aren't too many people inside when Gale, Katniss, and Peeta arrive. They take a seat at the far back booth, Gale and Katniss sitting across from Peeta. They all order, Peeta and Katniss getting the soup of the day, and Gale ordering a signature _Leevy burger_.

"Been busy all morning?" Peeta asks Gale, adding sugar to his coffee.

Gale sips on his, leaving it black, "Unbelievable, it's like you have to do everything yourself some days!"

"I hear ya'…" Peeta rubs the back of his neck. Obviously, there's something on his mind that he wants to get out on the table. Katniss stares him down, waiting for an explanation.

"Anything we should know about?" she asks.

A waitress brings out their food and refills their coffee. Peeta smiles sheepishly until she walks away, and then he leans close across the table.

"Alright, I have a bit of a problem," he looks between the two of them before continuing, "I went out last night after the play…and I played poker."

Gale raises a brow, not so surprised. Katniss scarfs down three spoonfuls of soup, waiting for him to continue.

"And I lost…but it wasn't my money, it was a loan shark's," he finishes with a cough.

Immediately, Katniss explodes and sprays hot broth all over Peeta's face. He flinches away, snatching a napkin and wiping off his face. He looks at her appalled and she matches his expression. Gale drops his burger in shock, suddenly a bit more alert of his surroundings.

He leans across to Peeta, "What? Are you crazy? How much money did you borrow?"

"Just a little…" he shrugs, wiping the corner of his mouth, looking out the window, and whispering, "like, a few thousand maybe."

Katniss throws her hands up, "A few thousand! A few thousand? How is that 'just a little'?"

Now the attention of everybody in the diner is on them. Gale turns around and waves in an apologetic manner until they've all returned to their own conversations.

He covers his eyes with a hand, "God, first off, let's not be obvious about losing a loan sharks money," he shoots a glance at Katniss. She shrugs and sucks on a straw she connected to her soup.

Peeta talks through a mouthful of bread, "You know, if you could lend me some _more_ money, I may be able to win it all ba-"

"No!" Katniss and Gale both shout. They glance at each other before checking over their shoulders again. Nobody is paying any more attention to them, but just about every one of them seems sketchy. Which one of them is a hired gun, coming to collect his pay?

"Let's get this food to go, and continue this conversation in my office," Gale suggests while staring down an old man reading a newspaper.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they're much appreciated. This story will be updated randomly, sometimes quite frequently, sometimes not so much. It's easy to write and I use it as a break from my 'more serious' H-Games FanFic. Thanks again!  
**

**Thanks for reading!  
**

**Chapter 4 coming soon!  
**

**If you liked it, please take the time to Review/Comment/Subscribe/PM or Email me with Questions or Ideas!  
**

**Feel free to check out my other stories!  
**

**_- Legkicker_**


	4. Chapter 4: Friends and Forklifts

**Everdeen & Hawthorne Hunting & Gathering Co-Operative  
**

**(In association with Mellark Bakery)  
**

**Chapter 4: Friends and Forklifts**

**Lunchtime** drags on as the trio hides out in Gale's office. The warehouse is still busy, and life is going on like any other normal Tuesday should…except for the fact that Gale, Katniss, and Peeta have to constantly check over their shoulders.

Katniss peeks through the blinds drawn over the window while Peeta paces back and forth.

"Alright, they probably won't look for us at Katniss' old house," Peeta mentions. He looks back at Gale, who has his head down on his desk.

Katniss snorts, "Us? You mean you?"

"Well, let me just say, if I didn't have to go to that stupid play last night I'd have just played poker at home instead of with loan sha-" Peeta freezes mid-sentence. Katniss has locked on him, her eye twitching with anger.

"What?" she asks in a sketchy voice.

Gale notices the stand-off and intervenes, "Alright, I know tensions are high…but let's try to keep a cool-head about this."

The phone rings and all three of them jump. Gale glances at both of them to make sure they keep quiet before he picks it up.

Delly's voice sings in his ear, "Gale, I've got a gentleman here. He's the fork-truck salesman from Rycon."

"Send him up," Gale hangs up the phone and quickly stands up. He pats down his clothing and straightens out his shirt. With one look at the other two members in his office, he knows that this meeting will only end horribly if they stay.

"Shoo," he scoots around his desk and grabs Katniss and Peeta by the arms, "Go, go wait in Katniss office until this sale is over."

They both turn around to protest as he ushers them out the door, but he quickly slams it in their faces. Katniss says something inaudible through the door before walking off, and Gale breathes a sigh of relief.

Finally, some peace and quiet. It's not every day that Gale has to deal with loan-sharks and fork-truck salesmen. Friendly-feuds, however, are quite common, unfortunately.

So he takes the time to hastily clean up the office, stacking his papers, setting up a comfortable chair in front of his desk, and making sure he's got cold drinks available. The air feels stuffy inside, so he pulls up the blinds and cracks the window open. He just finishes setting out a fresh Kleenex box when there's a knock on the door.

Checking his breath, he puts on a smile to ready himself, and he opens the door happily. His expression quickly drops when he sees Peeta on the other side.

"Gale, what do we do if they come?" he asks.

Gale just shuts the door and walks away shaking his head. He doesn't have time to sit back down though, as there's another knock on the door.

"Go away!" He rips open the door to meet a balding man with a black, horseshoe hair-cut and big rounded glasses. He's short and thin, wearing a black suit with a white undershirt and red and yellow striped tie. A briefcase in his right hand is labeled 'Rycon' in brass letters.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were…never mind," Gale tries to hide the embarrassment in his voice.

They shake hands and Gale offers him the seat across from his desk.

The man accepts it and sets the briefcase down beside him.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Todd Herring, we spoke on the phone?" he says.

Gale thinks back. Honestly, it was probably one of the employees on the sales team that spoke with him, but he just plays along anyway.

"Oh yes, I'm Gale Hawthorne, would you like a drink? It's hot out in that warehouse," he chuckles. There's a bang on the wall behind him, the one separating Katniss' office from his. It catches Gale's attention, but Todd doesn't seem to notice. Gale just tightens his grip on the arm rest.

"That's quite alright, I'd actually like to get down to business," Todd smiles, "me and the Mrs. have a date," he winks.

Gale raises a brow, "Um, sure thing. Now, talking affordability here, what I'm really looking for is something that won't bust my wallet for gas, repairs, and maintenance."

Todd nods and pulls his briefcase up onto his lap. He begins shuffling through some papers, when suddenly there's another bang on the wall, followed by muffled voices shouting back and forth. Gale soon realizes it was probably a bad idea to put those two together in the same room, they might just kill each other.

"Alright, here's a nice Rycon brand forklift, it boasts an 8,000 pound capacity, only $4,500," Todd slides a picture of a shiny new, yellow forklift across the desk to him. It's almost exactly what Gale is looking for, and definitely within the $5,000 budget he's maintaining. With the other fork-truck still broken, he needs it now, and its crunch-time. The warehouse loses approximately 20% of its productivity when they only have 4 forklifts as opposed to 5.

"This says propane, LPG right?" Gale asks. There's another bang on the wall, and he cringes as there's a loud crash. Even Todd hears this one, and he looks around confused. Gale quickly plays it off, "I've got some guys painting that office and remodeling, don't mind them."

Todd agrees to ignore it, "Yes, well, it is LPG, so you will need a certain type of fuel to run-"

A knock on the door interrupts the conversation. They both turn, and Gale prays that whoever it is just goes away. But they don't, in fact they start knocking repeatedly and calling his name.

Gale gulps down his anger, "One moment please."

He jumps up out of his seat and rushes to the door. He yanks it open, not so surprised to see Katniss standing on the other side. Gale slaps a palm to his forehead and then gestures to Todd, who waves. Katniss waves back at him and puts on a fake smile. Then she looks back at Gale, frowns, and points towards her office.

"I'm not going to deal with this. Why should we lure the loan sharks into _my_ office?" she manages to get out before Gale cups a hand over her mouth.

"Are you crazy?" he whispers harshly, looking all over the place, "Keep it down! And stop banging on the walls! I have to buy this fork!"

Katniss rolls her eyes, "Okay, but are you gonna' be done soon because if not I'm going to strangle Peeta. I'm not staying in the room with him."

"It's your office, kick him out!" Gale shoves her away down the hall and backs into the room with a false happy tone, "Oh yeah, I'll fax that right over to corporate! Thanks Katniss!"

He laughs and shrugs at Todd. He just eyes Gale suspiciously, rolling up his sleeves and buttoning down the cuffs. It's a wonder how they have a business at all considering how much they mess things up. It all depends on how serious they show up for work. Most days, Katniss can persuade just about anybody into buying a box of squirrels, Peeta can get the box cooked in just minutes, and Gale can have it on a truck and shipped in the same amount of time.

But then they have days where they are trying to evade loan-sharks...

Gale takes his seat again and begins studying the paper in front of him.

An almost brand-new, only 1,031 hour used fork-truck. It's LPG, which is fine considering two of the other ones in the warehouse are, and has a similar capacity of 8,000 pounds. Plus, the yellow color matches the others bright-tones as well.

"Alright, Mr. Harold," Gale stands up with the paper in his hands.

Todd clears his throat, "Uh, my name is Mr. Herring," he laughs weakly.

"I'll take it, where do I sign?" Gale asks. Todd opens his briefcase again and removes a waiver, contract, and pen, setting them down on the desk. Gale takes some time to read them over as he always does, making sure he doesn't sign off on something he shouldn't.

"Gale! Gaaale!" a familiar voice calls from outside. Gale turns towards the window, looking out to see Peeta standing on the grass below and waving his arms above his head.

"It's not safe out here! Tell Katniss to let me back inside!" he calls.

Gale quickly slams the window shut and scribbles his name off on the papers without a second thought.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they're much appreciated. This story will be updated randomly, sometimes quite frequently, sometimes not so much. It's easy to write and I use it as a break from my 'more serious' H-Games FanFic. Thanks again!  
**

**Thanks for reading!  
**

**Chapter 5 coming soon!  
**

**If you liked it, please take the time to Review/Comment/Subscribe/PM or Email me with Questions or Ideas!  
**

**Feel free to check out my other stories!  
**

**_- Legkicker_**


	5. Chapter 5: Pesky Problems

**Everdeen & Hawthorne Hunting & Gathering Co-Operative  
**

**(In association with Mellark Bakery)  
**

**Chapter 5: Pesky Problems**

**Todd** shakes Gale's hand one last time before exiting the office. Oh well, Todd from Rycon may think this warehouse is insane but what does that matter? He's a forklift salesman, the warehouse deals with him only once every few years.

Not a second after he exits, Katniss enters. Gale looks out the window and waves Peeta up.

"Regardless of what trouble we're in, our jobs are still important," Gale scowls at Katniss, "Was it really that hard to give me a few minutes alone?"

Katniss bites her lip and drags her foot in a semi-circle in front of her, tilting her head back and forth and staring at the ceiling. Gale doesn't break his gaze though, and she finally looks back at him.

"Alright fine, but I wasn't the only one!" she protests.

Peeta pops open the door and peeks his head in, "I have to go help with a box of squirrels, I'll be right back."

Gale nods and Peeta takes off down the catwalk, slamming the door behind him. Katniss walks over to Gale's fridge and steals a bottle of water, taking it over to the chair in front of his desk, humming the whole time.

"Katniss," Gale checks his watch, "It's already 2, we've accomplished almost nothing since lunch. Maybe you could, I don't know, make some calls or whatever it is that you do?"

Her bottom lip curls out into a pouting frown and her eyes twinkle with tears, "But Gale, it's too sca-"

"Go, don't bang on my wall," he points to the door. Her sad face drops off and she sticks her tongue out before exiting with the water bottle.

* * *

**Time** passes slowly, and Gale works hard on catching up on all the missed work. He runs down to the warehouse floor, directing the employees and helping them load the trucks. Stopping by the kitchen, he lends Greasy Sae a hand and helps Ripper with the rabbit's issue.

Once that's squared away, he gets caught up talking to Darius about enhancing security. He tells him to start looking for a few new recruits, and to send them to his office. Being that Darius is the only security guard in the entire warehouse, it wouldn't hurt to add a few members. It's not like they get paid much, considering there is rarely a time when they're needed…

Gale rubs his eyes and checks his watch; the time is now 3:30 PM. He decides that's enough to call it a Tuesday, and takes his turn to pop into an office. He rips open Katniss' door and catches her singing while filing away papers.

"_I'm Katniss, Katniss, Katniss, would you like a Katniss kiss?_" she sings, freezing the moment she sees Gale. Her face turns white.

"So that's what you do? You sing about yourself?" Gale smirks. She brushes a stand of hair out of her face and scowls at him.

"Hey, I don't go bursting into your-" she stops to think, "You said to do something, so I am!"

Gale's just glad the work day is finally over, and the trio can focus on the more important issue right now. So he and Katniss walk back to his office and relax, waiting for Peeta to come back. They wait and wait, until finally Gale picks up the phone and contacts Madge.

"Gale?" she answers. It's past her shift, and Gale's glad to see she stuck around.

He rubs the back of his neck, "Hi Madge, do you know if Peeta is still working in the kitchen?"

"He clocked out about five minutes ago," she answers.

Why would he just leave like that? It's been a few hours since Gale or Katniss had seen him, and he did say he would be 'right back'. Maybe he went out to grab a bite to eat, considering the only thing he really ate at lunch was a piece of bread and a mouthful of Katniss' soup.

"Alright, thanks," Gale says, he's about to hang up when Madge clears her throat loudly.

Her voice changes to a softer tone, "Is that _allll_ you wanted?"

"Um," Gale tugs at his collar, "Just about, why?"

Katniss raises her brow, but goes back to drawing and un-drawing the blinds covering the window.

"I don't know, I was just wondering if…" she pauses, "perhaps, if you're not busy, we could go to dinner tonight?"

Gale slaps his palm to his forehead, again, and sighs. Why does it seem like everything keeps getting worse and worse? First Peeta threatens all of their lives by playing poker, then he runs off, and now Madge expects Gale to go to dinner with her.

"I was actually planning on," he's about to reject the offer, when he remembers what happened the last time he did. He came into work with his desk flipped over. "I was planning on asking you, maybe we could go to the new place downtown?"

Madge squeals in delight, "Perfect! Pick me up at 7!"

She hangs up and Gale drops the phone, leaning over his desk and cursing to himself. Katniss realizes what just happened and laughs, falling onto the ground and holding her sides.

"Oh Gale, you're truly too easy," she giggles, "But this is perfect!"

Gale snorts, "Define perfect, please."

"Well, we can use this opportunity to lure the loan-sharks out. You and Madge can go out on a date, and Peeta and I will go to the same place!" Katniss jumps onto her feet, "And then we get 'em!"

Gale thinks about it. While the plan seems a bit rushed and flawed, it has to beat hiding out all night in Katniss' old house. The only thing there is that smelly cat Buttercup and a pile of dead rodents it killed. He shutters at the thought.

There's a knock on the door, and before anybody can answer, it flies open. Peeta leaps inside and holds a black metal object up into the sky.

"Behold! The Delron 107, 9 millimeter, semi-automatic, self-defense handgun!" he gleams. Gale and Katniss back up against the wall as Peeta swings it around wildly.

"Dude! You bought a gun! Give me that!" Gale snatches the firearm. He quickly drops the magazine out of the bottom and checks the chamber. He clicks on the safety and tosses the gun in his desk drawer.

"What? I thought I'd shoot my way out," Peeta frowns.

Katniss grins, "Cool!"

Gale gives them both a confused look, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. We aren't going to shoot anybody…"

But who's to say the loan-sharks won't shoot them?

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they're much appreciated. This story will be updated randomly, sometimes quite frequently, sometimes not so much. It's easy to write and I use it as a break from my 'more serious' H-Games FanFic. Thanks again!  
**

**Thanks for reading!  
**

**Chapter 6 coming soon!  
**

**If you liked it, please take the time to Review/Comment/Subscribe/PM or Email me with Questions or Ideas!  
**

**Feel free to check out my other stories!  
**

**_- Legkicker_**


	6. Chapter 6: Going to be a Long Night

**Everdeen & Hawthorne Hunting & Gathering Co-Operative  
**

**(In association with Mellark Bakery)  
**

**Chapter 6: Going to be a Long Night  
**

**Six-thirty** comes around, and Gale decides it's time to get ready for the night out. He changes out of his work clothes, takes a shower, brushes his teeth, fixes his hair, slaps on some cologne, and gets dressed. He slips into a fresh white undershirt, a grey colored collared button-down, a pair of black slacks, and a pair of black dress shoes. To say the least, he cleans up nicely.

He hops into his silver corvette, puts the top down, starts it up, and pulls out of his driveway. He notices that Peeta and Katniss haven't left yet, Peeta's white Escalade is still in the driveway. They aren't supposed to leave for another half an hour anyway, to make it less obvious.

They decided to dine in a place called Geoff's. It's a three-star restaurant on the edge of downtown District 12. It's fairly new, only opening at the beginning of last year. Gale's heard good things about it, but never had the chance to head down and see for himself.

Gale drives through the Victor's Village, saluting Haymitch, who's walking home with a bag of liquor.

The sun is beginning to set, making the sky a dark purple and coloring the rim of the horizon orange. Gale decides to lighten the mood by flipping on the radio and changing the station to a country song. The traffic down-town is never really bad, most people just walk places.

Madge's house is hard to miss considering it's also the Mayor's. He swings the car around the long looping driveway and parks it at the bottom of the stone-staircase leading up to the elegant home. Madge is already waiting at the top, hurrying down when he pulls up.

He quickly hops out of the car and opens the passenger door for her. He's surprised to see how amazing she looks. Usually she's wearing a wrinkled suit with a pair of slim glasses and her blonde hair up in a bun.

Now she has on a tight, red dress with frills around the shoulders and a pair of red heels. Her blonde locks are curled and dance around her face when she walks. She carries a small white coin purse with a long strap around her right arm. She applied a touch of make-up, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, and a hint of blush, just enough, and not over-doing-it.

She pecks Gale on the cheek before taking her seat in the car. Gale smiles, thinking to himself, perhaps this won't be so bad after all.

Gale gets back into the driver's seat, "Wow, you look beautiful, Madge."

"Thanks darling, this is exactly what I needed," she says with a smile.

* * *

**The** pair heads through town, talking happily all the way. They discuss work, politics, the economy, what movies are out, the weather, just about anything there is. When they reach the restaurant, the doorman and other valets around recognize Gale. Being the head of such a large company gets you renown, and they have the car doors open before he even comes to a complete stop.

"Good evening, Mr. Hawthorne, I'll park it around back," a valet greets him. Gale hands him the keys and walks around to help Madge out. She takes his arm and they walk down the sidewalk to the doors. It's a big building with fancy decorative signs, large windows, expensive chandeliers and lighting…and a long line to wait in.

They don't have to stand in it though, as they're ushered right inside. The lobby has a plush carpet and ornate rugs lining the floor, with a large desk that runs along the front, where the manager stands behind. The walls are a beige color, while the floor and ceiling are a royal red.

Walking through another set of glass doors leads into the dining area, where a bunch of round tables sit with white table cloths, candles, flowers, cushioned chairs, and dressy people eating. Gale and Madge head to the back, as they had planned, and take a seat at the farthest table in the back left corner.

"It's so nice of you to take me to a place this pretty!" Madge squeals while a waiter pours two glasses of champagne.

Gale takes a look at his menu, "It's still not nearly as pretty as you are." He catches himself, this is a bad idea. He has to go to work with Madge tomorrow, and if he doesn't hold back on the compliments, he may end up taking her out again.

"Awe, thanks sweetie," she smiles and takes her menu. Gale decides on a tenderloin steak, and Madge takes an expensive pasta dish.

"To another Tuesday behind us," Gale holds his champagne glass up to touch with Madge's, when something catches his attention. The sounds in the restaurant consist of the tapping of silver-ware on dishes, glasses, slow classical music, and the chatter of other people…but then there's something else.

It's a low tone, quiet at first, but slowly growing louder. Madge hears it too, and they both turn around to face the door. Through the windows, they watch as a white SUV pulls up to the front of the restaurant. Peeta's Escalade...

They have some loud, rap-type music blasting, the whole car bounces and the spinners on the tires slowly come to a stop. The black-tinted windows roll down, revealing Katniss in the passenger seat. That's all they need before the valet's have the door open and she hops out.

The music blasts even louder when the doors are open, and some rapper spits out lyrics about the Capitol.

"_All y'all in D10, D11, my boys in D12! This one's for y'all!" _the music bumps and the whole restaurant is frozen. _"Fight for my right, it's a Hunger Games night! Going to the reapin', but the Capitol sleepin',! Ah nah, Peacekeepers take me down, but I'd die for this town! President Snow, hell he don't know, I'm the man in charge, bankin', livin' large!"_

Peeta cuts the engine and the song tunes out. For about a moment longer, everybody stares, but then the caterers quickly tell them to continue with their night. Katniss flips a strand of hair out of her eyes and adjusts her white, felt-lined gloves.

She looks amazing too, wearing an elegant white dress, black high-heels, a pearl necklace, and gold-hoop earrings. Her dark-brown hair is put up, with a few stands that twirl around her cheeks. She carries a small black purse with her, and her face sparkles a little.

Peeta exits the vehicle wearing a light-blue tux and white pants. His blonde hair isn't unkempt like usual, but instead it's combed over. He straightens his shirt out and takes Katniss' hand while they enter inside. Everybody's eyes are still glancing over at them.

"What are they doing here?" Madge asks, wrinkling her nose. Katniss and Peeta walk to the far left side of the dining room, taking a seat in the middle.

"Who knows, maybe they're dating," Gale shrugs and returns to his champagne toast. They tap glasses and Gale downs the whole drink.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they're much appreciated. This story will be updated randomly, sometimes quite frequently, sometimes not so much. It's easy to write and I use it as a break from my 'more serious' H-Games FanFic. Thanks again!  
**

**Thanks for reading!  
**

**Chapter 7 coming soon!  
**

**If you liked it, please take the time to Review/Comment/Subscribe/PM or Email me with Questions or Ideas!  
**

**Feel free to check out my other stories!  
**

**_- Legkicker_**


	7. Chapter 7: Dinner Party

**Everdeen & Hawthorne Hunting & Gathering Co-Operative  
**

**(In association with Mellark Bakery)  
**

******Chapter 7: Dinner Party**  


**Dinner** finally arrives, a waitress carrying out the steak and the pasta. Madge can't stop smiling, and talking for that matter. Katniss and Peeta have been doing a good job of not drawing attention to each other, keeping quiet and pretending they never saw Gale.

Every now and again though, they create a disturbance, whether it's spilling a drink or Katniss slapping Peeta upside the head. Out of all the couples in the restaurant, they are definitely the most dysfunctional, and it's very humorous to watch.

"Why do you keep looking at her?" Madge suddenly asks, catching Gale staring them down. He almost gags on his steak, quickly turning back to Madge. He hadn't realized just how long he had been watching them.

He clears his throat, "I'm not, I'm just wondering where that waitress went! My champagne glass is almost empty!"

It's still nearly full, considering he never had time to drink any with how long he'd been looking at Peeta and Katniss. Madge notices too, shooting him a sad look.

"Are you trying to get drunk?" she asks in a depressed voice.

Gale quickly plays it off, "No-no! It's just, rather hot in here? Or is that just you?" he refrains from another face-palm. That had to be the cheapest pick-up line he's ever used. But it works, Madge blushes and returns to her pasta.

"Yeah, sorry, I just got a lot on my mind right now. I mean, here I am, trying to enjoy dinner with you, and two co-workers show up! How am I supposed to _not _think about work?" Gale shakes his head, glancing up once to see Madge frown. He takes a long sip of his champagne.

"Awe, it's alright baby, I can get your mind off it," she grins. Gale's eyes open wide and he fights to not copy Katniss and spray his champagne all over the table. But suddenly, there's another outburst, speak of the devil.

"You looking at me? Are you looking at me?" she shouts. The restaurant turns to see the fancy dressed Katniss scoot her chair back and stand up. She's staring down an old man, eating dinner with his wife a table away. They both have grey hair and glasses on with old-fashioned dress clothes. Katniss storms towards the man.

"I-I just thought I knew you, you're Katniss Everdeen," he stutters.

Peeta jumps out of his seat, walking over and cracking his knuckles on the way.

"I bet you knew her, I bet you did background checks on all of us! Bring it on old-man! BRING IT ON!" Peeta shouts. He flips the table away and the caterers are all rushing over and trying to calm down the very odd pair of entrepreneurs.

"One second," Gale motions for Madge to sit tight as he jumps up and jogs over. Gale grabs Peeta and pushes him away, but he can't get a hold of Katniss who takes the man's wife by the shirt and leans into her face.

"I ain't afraid of you! A bit surprised they sent such an old couple to do this kind of work…but perhaps these are disguises! That's a mask!" Katniss tries to get her hands on the woman's face but she fights back, screaming the whole time.

Before Gale can separate her, Katniss gets a hold of the woman's hair and yanks off a wig. She laughs madly and clutches onto it while the whole restaurant gasps.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave!" A caterer approaches from behind. Gale turns around to see a waiter carrying a knife, coming straight for Katniss. Something inside him clicks, and he realizes that maybe Peeta and Katniss were onto something that he didn't know. Maybe these are the loan-sharks!

He quickly intervenes, kicking the knife out of the man's hand and punching him in the gut. The man topples over and falls to the ground.

"Gale!" Madge shouts from the back. She's up and running their way, grabbing his hand and staring into his eyes. "What the hell are you doing?"

"No time to explain! Katniss, Peeta, it's the waiters! They're the ones! He had a knife!" Gale explains. They all look at the man on the ground, clutching his side with a steak-knife sitting on the ground next to him.

Madge snorts, "Gale! He was cutting that man's steak!" she points to an old-man a few tables away, who is ducking behind his chair and shivering.

Gale, Katniss, and Peeta all exchange confused looks. Who is it? Who is the hired gun for the loan-sharks? Before they have a chance to accuse anybody else, an army of chef's, waitresses, waiters, and staff members arrive to throw them out.

They don't bother fighting, they just give in as the staff shoves them away.

"I won't talk! I'll never talk!" Katniss hisses at them as they excavate her towards the door.

* * *

**Arriving** back at Katniss' old, crusty home on the opposite edge of District 12, the trio flips on the lights. Surprisingly, they still work, along with the well water. Katniss immediately yanks off her felt-lined gloves and opens a cabinet above the kitchen counter.

She retrieves a box of stale crackers and begins nibbling on one.

"Really?" Gale asks. Her only response is a shrug, and they both watch Peeta pace back and forth. Gale loosens his collar and rolls up his sleeves before crossing his arms.

"So, instead of blending in when we're in public, we should cause a scene?" Gale asks. He's mad at them both, considering he only later found out they had no evidence the old couple was the loan-sharks. So he punched out a waiter for nothing, and he completely ruined Madge's night.

She wanted to go straight home, and cried the whole way. No doubt, Gale will be dealing with the fallout tomorrow at work.

"Oh Galeford, you were in on it too! You knocked that guy down, which was pretty cool," Katniss points out. She winces as she bites down on a cracker that's rock hard.

"We should watch the Peacekeepers, they might start cracking down on us," Peeta laughs weakly. "I mean, they were the ones I was playing poker with after all…"

* * *

**A/N: Originally, there was a fight scene with 'real' loan-sharks in this chapter. I decided it was a bit too much action and not so much funny. Would putting action in ruin it?  
**

**Thanks for reading!  
**

**Chapter 8 coming soon!  
**

**If you liked it, please take the time to Review/Comment/Subscribe/PM or Email me with Questions or Ideas!  
**

**Feel free to check out my other stories!  
**

**_- Legkicker_**


	8. Chapter 8: Wednesday Blues

**Everdeen & Hawthorne Hunting & Gathering Co-Operative  
**

**(In association with Mellark Bakery)  
**

**********Chapter 8: Wednesday Blues**  


**Early** the next morning, Gale's alarm clock rings out to start the Wednesday. His hand locates the snooze button and clicks it in, allowing him a few more minutes to collect himself before it sounds off again. He had a long night, returning home late after arguing with Katniss and Peeta.

He tries his hardest not to think about any of the previous night's activities, hoping it won't be mentioned to him too much today. Unfortunately, that hope is crushed when he locates the daily newspaper in his driveway, clearly labeled: _"Hawthorne and Katniss Rampage!"_

A picture snapped miraculously at the perfect moment captures Gale delivering the punch into the waiter and sending him to the ground. He slaps his palm to his face and tries his hardest not to breakdown into tears.

He gets into his car, immediately reminded of Madge when he notices she left her purse on the passenger seat.

"_Great, now I have to talk to her…this is going to be a long day,"_ he thinks to himself. He peels away from his house, passing Haymitch on the way out of the Victors Village. Haymitch doesn't offer much sympathy, just a shake of his head in disapproval.

* * *

**Delly **hands Gale a coffee much too hot, and she stares at him with the dumbest smirk he's ever seen. Clearly, she wants to discuss what happened last night, but Gale gives her the cold shoulder. He mutters a "thanks" for the cup of Joe and heads off to his office.

He sits down at his desk, glad to get a minute alone again. But his eyes land on the phone and notice the answering machine is filled with 99+ messages. They're probably all from his associates and customers, all of which must be angered by the headlines.

He nearly jumps out of his seat when the door opens. He expects Katniss or Peeta, but is even more shocked when Madge walks in. Her eyes are still red and puffy from a night of crying, but she managed to fix her hair up and dress nicely to counter that appearance.

She enters into the room and quietly closes the door behind her, never making eye contact. Gale just stares at her with his mouth open, frozen like a statue. It's as if he just watched a deer walk into his office and he's afraid to spook it.

She finally looks up at him, and waits a minute before saying, "You can delete those messages, I already called all the clients and explained to them the best I could…we didn't lose anybody."

Gale stares at her for a minute longer, but happily presses the 'clear all' button on the machine. When it flashes with zero messages, he looks back at her.

"Thanks, how did you call them all already?" he asks with a sheepish laugh.

She plays with a ring on her finger while staring at her feet, "I didn't sleep much last night..."

"Oh," Gale says. Damn, he's already dealing with this mess and the day has only just begun. Why does he always get caught up in these antics?

Madge looks up at him, "I just came back for my purse," her eyes lock onto his and the depression registers. It melts Gale to the core. He can't believe what he did, actually going along with the plan and taking Madge out just to get a glimpse of the loan sharks...it makes him feel heartless. That date was everything to her, and he acted as if it was nothing special.

Gale quickly stands up, "It's out in my car, come on, we'll go grab it."

She backs up and puts a hand up to stop him, "No! That's alright, I'll just…go get it."

She exits the room and Gale sulks back into his chair. Well, on the bright side, she'll never call him for a date again. But on the downside, she'll never talk to him again…

* * *

**After** much heckling from his peers, it's finally the morning rush. Gale has been busy with work, filing papers away and contacting new clients to set up shipping orders. He's amazed at some of the people he's talking to on the phone. The whole fiasco last night actually _brought in_ some new clients. They laugh hysterically into the phone, telling Gale they love to do business with people who are as – quote – "fun" as he and his coworkers.

So, the heckling dies down and soon everybody is back to their normal routine. It's about nine in the morning by the time Gale has most of the problems fixed and Katniss and Peeta decide to show up. Gale is furious…

"You still have jobs, you know that, right?" he fumes, staring daggers at both of them. Katniss is dressed up in her hunting gear, but Peeta decided to come in without an apron or chef's hat. Instead, he adorns a black T-shirt reading: _Nice Buns_, along with a pair of khaki shorts.

Peeta rubs his neck, "Yeah, but last night-"

"Don't!" Gale squeezes his eyes shut and stops Peeta with a raised hand, "I have had _enough_ recaps of last night…"

Katniss bites her bottom lip and puts her hands behind her back, drawing a semi-circle with her foot in front of her.

"Katniss? Do you have any alibi for sleeping in late and showing up-" he checks his watch, "three hours late for work?"

She smiles up at him, "Yeah, a good reason actually…it's a holiday!"

Gale pushes his brows together, "I've heard this one before, what holiday is it this time? National Save the Squirrels day again?"

She frowns at him, "No, think…what month is it?"

"Katniss, I don't care about this stupid holiday!" he blurts out, "If it's not marked on my calendar, then it must not be important enough to miss work!" he nearly shouts. Peeta smirks at the comment, but quickly frowns at Katniss' reaction.

Her expression looks hurt, and her bottom lip quivers as her eyes well up with tears. Gale notices too, and he's frozen again. She slowly walks towards the door and opens it gently.

Before she exits she turns around and looks into Gale's eyes, "It's my birthday..."

The door shuts softly and Katniss walks off to her office. All is quiet as Gale stares in disbelief. He never meant to say those things to her, they just spilled out and he couldn't stop them.

Peeta clears his throat audibly, and checks his wrist for a watch that isn't there, "Oh gee, well, it looks like we both have a lot of work to catch up on…"

Gale props his elbows up on the desk and buries his face in his hands.

Peeta sighs, "Gale, look, she'll forget about this by lunchtime."

He shakes his head, "I told her I didn't care and it wasn't important…and worse, I didn't even remember."

Peeta pats Gale's shoulder, "Yeah, I can't lie, you messed up. I mean, this is like, ten times worse than me and the loan sharks," he laughs a bit too hard.

Gale scowls at him, "Not even close, I'll deal with you later…get to work."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out to you guys! You can thank "Death God2" for getting me to update this! Hope you enjoy it, the next chapter should have some more humor in it, this one is a bit sad.  
**

**Thanks for reading!  
**

**Chapter 9 coming soon!  
**

**If you liked it, please take the time to Review/Comment/Subscribe/PM or Email me with Questions or Ideas!  
**

**Feel free to check out my other stories!  
**

**_- Legkicker_**


	9. Chapter 9: Spilled Soup

**Everdeen & Hawthorne Hunting & Gathering Co-Operative  
**

**(In association with Mellark Bakery)  
**

**************Chapter 9: Spilled Soup**  


**Hours** pass and the lunch time whistle blows. Gale has been buried in work, venting in his office after Katniss denied him access into hers. Apparently she just didn't want to talk about it, although Gale knows he won't get off that easy.

After talking things over with clients, he thought the buzz surrounding the events that occurred last night were over. Unfortunately, corporate called and scheduled a meeting for after lunch requiring all three of their appearances.

Gale rolls up his sleeves and runs a hand through his hair, checking to make sure everything on his desk is organized before he leaves. His paperwork bin is no longer filled on the unfinished side, but stacked in the 'done' tray.

His phone rings, and he curses before answering, "Hello?"

"Yo," Peeta says, "What's this 'meeting' we have to go to?"

Gale taps on his desk, "Corporate called, we're in trouble. We can discuss it over lunch."

"Nah, no good G-man, I have a lot of bread in need of baking…got a late start this morning. You and Kat'll have to go without me," he explains.

As if Katniss would go with him now. He sighs, "Alright, I'll talk to you at noon."

Peeta hangs up and Gale is left in his office quiet and alone, looking to go out to lunch without somebody to hold a conversation with. He leans back in his chair and thinks to himself who would go with him. Peeta is out because of work, Katniss is ready to rip his head off, Madge will never go out with him to anywhere again…Delly.

No, Delly would just ask about last night. There's always Bill from accounting, but rumor has it that he has an odor following him.

Ten minutes pass before Gale decides to head out alone.

* * *

**Pulling** into the parking lot of Leevy's Diner, Gale shuts off his radio and yawns. He parks his corvette and walks up to the front doors, opening them up and enjoying the feeling of the air conditioning inside. It's pretty vacant today, with only 1 booth filled up and a shady character sitting on the far side of the bar.

Gale walks to the back, taking a seat in his usual booth. He stares out the window until a waitress arrives with a menu. He takes it without a word and flips it open. A burger, that's what he always orders…

"Just you today?" a familiar voice asks.

He looks up to see a girl slipping into the booth in front of him. She has dark flowing hair, sea-green eyes and a nice figure…Annie Cresta. She adorns a white shirt and white slacks, a pearl necklace looping around her neck.

She slides all the way to the window side to allow a man with blonde hair and bronze skin to sit next to her. Finnick Odair, showing up in his casual attire of a tropical-floral shirt, swim trunks, and oversized aviator sunglasses. His white smile is blinding.

Gale narrows his eyes at them both. They aren't friends, they're enemies. Finnick and Annie's Seafood Emporium was what nearly cost Gale and Katniss their business five years back. Luckily, Greasy Sae was credited towards coming up with 'Rainbow Trout Cereal', a special blend of cornflakes and fish scales. The kids loved the sweet taste, and it helped to counter the growing need for Seafood in the outer Districts. Well, that and the squirrel inside a lobster dish Peeta constructed…delicious with a side of butter and garlic.

But now the two companies compete for the best sales every year.

"You're a long way from the ocean, what you want Odair?" Gale scowls.

Finnick exchanges a mock surprise expression with Annie, and then he laughs, "Mr. Hawthorne, is that how you always address tourists?"

The waitress comes over with two more menus, handing them to the sea-bound pair.

"Only the ones I don't like. Stop playing games, what do you want?" Gale presses.

Finnick shrugs and removes his sunglasses, "Well, I just came to collect my money…"

Money? Gale shoots him a confused glance. The waitress returns, interrupting the stare down. All three of them order, sending her off. Gale returns to staring him down.

Annie smiles, "I guess Peeta never told you…he was in a poker game with us."

Gale's eyes grow wide, "Wait, he said it was a game with Peacekeepers."

Finnick frowns, "Yeah, he owes them too, but he only owes them a few thousand dollars. He was pretty drunk, and he bet _us_ everything."

The waitress delivers their food. Gale ordered a burger, while Finnick and Annie both ordered the soup of the day. The waitress begins writing up the cost, "Is this all on the same check?"

"Yes!" Annie answers before Gale can open his mouth. The waitress turns back and disappears into the kitchen.

Gale leans forward and whispers, "What do you mean...'everything'."

Finnick loosens his collar, "Not much, just the deed to his house and all the stocks invested in your company. He signed a contract, very shakily considering his drunken state."

Annie opens up a manila folder and retrieves a slip of white paper. She slides it across to Gale and he snatches it up. He reads the top: "This legal document hereby declares exclusive rights of landowner ship provided…"

It goes on to state the terms and conditions, but the bottom catches Gale's attention. Where it says 'Signed', Peeta clearly wriggled his name across the line. There's no doubting the contract's authenticity, and no winning a case in court. It wouldn't be the first time Peeta's defense lawyer used the "Intoxicated" claim to get him out of trouble. And this is a copy of the actual contract, not the real thing. If it was, Gale would shred it up.

He begins sweating and licking his lips. He looks back up at Finnick who is smirking back. Annie reclaims the contract and stashes it away.

"Alright, tell me something first though…" Gale says.

Finnick raises his brows in response.

"Did he have a good hand?" Gale asks.

Finnick and Annie look at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Finnick can barely get the words out of his mouth between laughs, "He-he had a pair-" he laughs and wipes a tear away, "a pair of fours! But Annie here showed him that she only had a pair of twos, and acted like she was bluffing. Peeta forgot I was still in the game, and I had a pair of kings."

Gale nods with an indifferent stare, "So he was duped?"

"Yeah! Exactly, he was duped," Finnick howls. He picks up his spoon and starts to sip on some of the soup in front of him.

Gale stretches and yawns, "Nah, you were _souped_."

Finnick raises a brow, "Souped?"

He realizes just a second too late what that meant. Gale grabs the back of Finnick's head and slams his face down into the bowl of soup. The broth spills everywhere and soaks the entire booth, splashing out across Annie. She's the first to recover from the shock, her jaw clenching and her eye twitching.

Gale hops out of the booth just in time to avoid the bowl of hot liquid tossed at him by her.

"Stop him! He's got our money!" Finnick shouts.

* * *

**A/N: I had some time to write so I got this out to you guys. Thanks for the reviews from "Death God2" and "Wetstar"!  
**

**Thanks for reading!  
**

**Chapter 10 coming soon!  
**

**If you liked it, please take the time to Review/Comment/Subscribe/PM or Email me with Questions or Ideas!  
**

**Feel free to check out my other stories!  
**

**_- Legkicker_**


	10. Chapter 10: Happy Birthday

**Everdeen & Hawthorne Hunting & Gathering Co-Operative  
**

**(In association with Mellark Bakery)  
**

**Chapter 10: "Happy" Birthday**

**Gale** leaves the top down on his convertible as he speeds through town. Local authorities have seen him in a rush enough times that if they recognize him they turn the other cheek. It's just not worth the time spent formally writing him a ticket.

The tires squeal as he enters the parking lot of the warehouse, flooring it into his spot. He hops out of the car, leaving the keys in the ignition and the engine idling. He's about to run towards the front doors when he spots Peeta across the lot.

Peeta saw his entrance, and the tense stance Gale is in tells him he's in trouble. He screams and starts to take off down the sidewalk.

"Hey! Stop!" Gale shouts before giving chase. He's faster than Peeta, and manages to catch up with him a few blocks down the road. He lunges forward and tackles him to the ground, the two of them punching and kicking in an intense struggle.

Passerby's stare at the scuffle as it occurs.

"No! Help! Help!" Peeta cries as Gale pins his shoulders to the ground.

He gets right into Peeta's face and growls, "You little punk! You signed away our entire company! Who gave you permission, you don't even own it!"

Peeta manages to squeak out, "One-fourth, I own one-fourth! It was my portion!"

Gale slams Peeta off the ground a few times to shut him up, "You weasel! You drunk moron, what are we supposed to do?"

Gale waits for an answer, and Peeta takes the opportunity to catch his breath from the exhausting run he just endured.

He smiles sheepishly, "Uh…double or nothing?"

Gale's eyes nearly pop out of his head.

* * *

**Peeta** stumbles onto the floor as Gale throws him inside his office. He crawls to the opposite side under the window as Gale storms in and yanks the door closed behind him.

"Alright, here's the checklist," he fumes. He plops down into his chair and takes a sticky-note and pencil. "One, Katniss' birthday. Two, Madge. Three, corporate meeting. Four, loan-sharks. Five, Fannie."

He throws the pencil back into the cup and looks at Peeta, "Did I miss anything?"

Peeta rubs his shoulder, "Yeah, saying sorry to Peeta for nearly breaking his spine."

Gale glares at him. Peeta looks up and notices, quickly putting on a stupid smile.

"Right, I'll get to baking a birthday cake!" he says before running away.

* * *

**Katniss** sits with her arms crossed in Gale's chair behind his desk, eyes still red from crying.

Gale kneels in front of her, "Alright, look, we'll go out tonight, and we can go on a shopping spree, and maybe we-"

"No Gale, I don't want to go on a _stupid _shopping spree," she cuts him off shortly.

If only Gale hadn't messed things up with Madge, she would've reminded him it was Katniss' birthday today. Apparently the entire office – excluding Peeta and Gale – knew it was her birthday. But that's because they all want raises...

"Okay…" Gale scratches his head and tries to conjure something up. He checks his watch nervously, praying that Peeta will hurry up with the cake. "I know, how about I write you a pass, to come in my office as much as you want!"

Her eyes flicker a little and a faint smile spreads across her lips, "Ok…what else."

Gale breathes a bit easier, but gets right back into thinking about gifts, "No more grass-cutting for you, I'll do it. And, we can have that thing you wanted…that uh, milkshakes and movies Monday?"

Her mouth drops open and she sits straight up, "Really? Do you mean it? Please!"

Gale stands up, "Of course!"

She jumps up and hugs him, "Yes!" she giggles with joy and rocks him back and forth.

Gale embraces her and rubs her back, sighing in relief. That's one thing off the list, unfortunately it comes with a hefty price. Milkshakes and movies Monday isn't as simple as it sounds…depending on the date the Monday falls on, it could either be a nice night at the cinema or involve dressing up like doctors and breaking into a convenient store.

Peeta explodes through the door, "Ta-da!" he sings, lugging in a huge white cake with ornate designs of katniss flowers looping around the edges. It's the perfect thing to seal off the awkwardness resonating from Gale's forgetfulness.

Katniss digs right in without a fork, using her hands to scoop out a portion and jam it into her face. Icing splatters all over and covers from her chin to the tip of her nose. Gale can't help but smile at her appearance. He does the same, taking a piece of the cake and smashing it into Peeta's face.

Katniss falls over laughing, rolling back and forth holding her sides. Peeta blinks hard, shocked at first but accepting after he realizes he probably deserved it.

"Yeah, this cake didn't take me hours to make or anything," he says.

Katniss sits up and wipes away tears of joy, "Oh man, that was hilarious. Thanks for the cake Peetie."

She gets to her feet and takes another scoop, this time throwing it all over Gale. He puts his hands up in defense just a second too late, the pieces showering all over him. He shakes his head to clear it from his hair, he's mad at first but catching a glimpse of Katniss is enough to make him crack another smile.

She hugs him again and he laughs.

Peeta laughs too, "I think I'll just make cupcakes next time."

He sets the remaining pile of frosting and fluff onto Gale's desk, helping himself to a portion. They munch in silence, laughing at each other's faces.

* * *

**A/N: I had some time to write so I got this out to you guys. Thanks for the reviews from "Death God2" and "Wetstar"!  
**

**Thanks for reading!  
**

**Chapter 11 coming soon!  
**

**If you liked it, please take the time to Review/Comment/Subscribe/PM or Email me with Questions or Ideas!  
**

**Feel free to check out my other stories!  
**

**_- Legkicker_**


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